The present invention relates generally to data communications networks and more particularly relates to an apparatus for and method of multicast registration in an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) based Emulated LAN (ELAN).
Currently, there is a growing trend to make Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networking technology the base of future global communications. ATM has already been adopted as a standard for broadband communications by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and by the ATM Forum, a networking industry consortium.
ATM originated as a telecommunication concept defined by the Comite Consulatif International Telegraphique et Telephonique (CCITT), now known as the ITU, and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for carrying user traffic on any User to Network Interface (UNI) and to facilitate multimedia networking between high speed devices at multi-megabit data rates. ATM is a method for transferring network traffic, including voice, video and data, at high speed. Using this connection oriented switched networking technology centered around a switch, a great number of virtual connections can be supported by multiple applications through the same physical connection. The switching technology enables bandwidth to be dedicated for each application, overcoming the problems that exist in a shared media networking technology, like Ethernet, Token Ring and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI). ATM allows different types of physical layer technology to share the same higher layerxe2x80x94the ATM layer.
ATM uses very short, fixed length packets called cells. The first five bytes, called the header, of each cell contain the information necessary to deliver the cell to its destination. The cell header also provides the network with the ability to implement congestion control and traffic management mechanisms. The fixed length cells offer smaller and more predictable switching delays as cell switching is less complex than variable length packet switching and can be accomplished in hardware for many cells in parallel. The cell format also allows for multi-protocol transmissions. Since ATM is protocol transparent, the various protocols can be transported at the same time. With ATM, phone, fax, video, data and other information can be transported simultaneously.
ATM is a connection oriented transport service. To access the ATM network, a station requests a virtual circuit between itself and other end stations, using the signaling protocol to the ATM switch. ATM provides the User Network Interface (UNI) that is typically used to interconnect an ATM user with an ATM switch that is managed as part of the same network.
The current standard solution for routing in a private ATM network is described in Private Network Node Interface (PNNI) Phase 0 and Phase 1 specifications published by the ATM Forum. The previous Phase 0 draft specification is referred to as the Interim Inter-Switch Signaling Protocol (IISP). The goal of the PNNI specifications is to provide customers of ATM network equipment some level of multi-vendor interoperability.
Today, most data traffic in existing customer premises networks travels over legacy LANs. It is desirable to permit these legacy LANs and their embedded infrastructure to operate with new ATM networks currently being deployed. To enable an easier migration path to ATM, the ATM Forum has defined the LAN Emulation (LANE) specification that allows ATM networks to coexist with legacy systems. The LANE specification defines a way for an ATM network to emulate a logical Ethernet or Token Ring segment, these currently being the most popular LAN technologies.
LANE service provides connectivity between ATM capable devices and legacy LAN capable devices across an ATM network. Since LANE connectivity is defined at the MAC layer, the upper protocol layer functions of LAN applications can continue to function unchanged after the device joins an emulated LAN. This important feature protects corporate investments in legacy LAN applications. An ATM network can support multiple independent emulated LAN (ELAN) networks. A network may have one or more emulated LANs wherein each emulated LAN is separate and distinct from the others. Emulated LANs communicate via routers and bridges just as they do in physical LANs. The emulated LAN provides communication of user data frames between its users just as in an actual physical LAN.
The ATM Forum""s LANE standard entitled, xe2x80x9cLAN Emulation over ATM Networks,xe2x80x9d Versions 1.0 and 2.0, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, defines the LANE architecture and a set of protocols used by the LANE entities. LANE uses a client/server model to provide its services. A block diagram illustrating prior art Version 1.0 LAN Emulation services available to nodes in an ATM network is shown in FIG. 1. The network, generally referenced 10, comprises an ATM network cloud (not shown) which includes a plurality of LECs 14 labeled LEC #1 through LEC #3 and a plurality of nodes 12 labeled node #1 through node #9 connected to LECs #1 through #3. The LECs are connected to a LAN Emulation services block 16 that comprises LECS 18, LES 20 and BUS 22.
The entities defined by the LANE architecture include LAN Emulation Clients (LECs) 14, a LAN Emulation Server (LES) 20, a Broadcast and Unknown Server (BUS) 22 and LAN Emulation Configuration Server (LECS) 18. The LES, BUS and LECS constitute what is known to as the LANE Service (block 16).
Each LAN Emulation Client (LEC) represents a set of users, as identified by their MAC addresses. A LEC emulates a LAN interface that communicates with higher layer protocols such as IP, IPX, etc. that are used by these users. To achieve this task, the LEC communicates with the LANE Services and with other LECs. LECs communicate with each other and to the LANE Services via ATM Virtual Channel Connections (VCCs). The VCCs are typically Switched Virtual Circuits (SVCs), but Permanent Virtual Connections (PVCs) might also be used for this purpose.
In order for a LEC to participate in an emulated LAN, the LEC must first communicate with an LECS. It may utilize a specific ATM address of the LECS if it knows it, or, as is typically the case, may use the well-known address of the LECS to establish communications.
As described previously, the LANE Service comprises several entities: LANE Server (LES), a Broadcast and Unknown Server (BUS) and LAN Emulation Configuration Server (LECS). The LES provides Joining, Address Registration and Address Resolution services to the LECs. Note that a given LES serves only a single emulated LAN.
The LES implements the control coordination function for the ELAN by providing a mechanism for registering and resolving unicast and multicast MAC addresses to ATM addresses. An LEC is connected to only one LES entity and may register LAN destinations it represents and multicast MAC addresses it wishes to receive. A LEC also queries its LES when the LEC needs to resolve a MAC address to an ATM address. The LES either responds directly to the LEC or forwards the query to other LECs so they may respond.
The BUS functions to sequence and distribute data sent by LECs to the broadcast MAC address xe2x80x98FFFFFFFFFFFFxe2x80x99, multicast data (to provide the connectionless data delivery characteristics of a shared network) and unicast data sent by a LEC before a data direct VCC has been established. Note that a given BUS serves only one emulated LAN. The main functions of the BUS include distributing data with multicast MAC (MMAC) addresses, initial unicast data (where the MAC address has not yet been resolved to a direct ATM connection) and to distribute broadcast data.
In operation, all LECs send data frames to the BUS entity, which is operative to serialize the frames and re-transmit them directly, or indirectly to other LECs. Note that serialization is necessary in order to prevent the cells making up the AAL5 frames originating from different sources from being interleaved. The BUS entity participates in the LE Address Resolution Protocol (LE_ARP) to enable an LEC to locate its BUS. The BUS must also handle ATM connections and manage its distribution group.
Note that the BUS entity may have multiple interfaces which support receiving and forwarding of specific multicast MAC address frames over multiple VCCs. A LEC does not need to receive all multicast MAC address frames and it may inform the LES during initialization (in LANE Version 2.0 discussed below). The LES then selectively forwards multicast MAC addresses frames to only those LECs that have requested them.
In sum, all broadcast multicast and unknown traffic to and from a LEC passes through the BUS entity. Therefore, if the processing capabilities of the BUS are limited, a potential bottleneck may arise that severely affects the performance of the network.
The LECS contains the database used in determining the emulated LAN a device belongs to. Each LEC consults the LECS once, at the time it joins an emulated LAN, to determine which emulated LAN it should join. The LECS assigns the LEC to a given emulated LAN by giving the LEC the ATM address of the LES associated with that particular emulated LAN. Different policies may be utilized by the LECS in making the assignment. The assignment may be based on the LEC""s physical location, i.e., ATM address, the LEC ID, i.e., the MAC address, or any other suitable criteria. Note that the LECS serves all the emulated LANs defined for the given administrative ATM network domain.
The straightforward implementation of the LANE Version 1.0 specification includes a single LECS for the entire administrative domain and a single LES per emulated LAN. A disadvantage of this implementation is that it suffers from a single point of failure for both the LECS and the LES. Failure of the LECS might take the entire network down while failure of the LES takes the entire emulated LAN down.
The LES implements the control coordination function for the ELAN. The LESs provide a facility for registering and resolving unicast and multicast MAC addresses to ATM addresses. A LEC is connected to only one LES and may register LAN destinations it represents and multicast MAC addresses it wished to receive with its LES. A LEC will also query its LES when the LEC wishes to resolve a MAC address to an ATM address. The LES either responds directly to the LEC or forwards the query to other LECs so they may respond.
A block diagram illustrating the relationship between LEC, LECS, LES and BUS entities in prior art Version 1.0 LAN Emulation services is shown in FIG. 2. Two LECs 30 are shown in communication with each other in addition to an LECS 32, LES 34 and BUS 36. The protocol the LECs use to communicate with each other and to the LAN Emulation services is known as LAN Emulation User to Network Interface (LUNI). The scope of the LUNI is indicated by the dashed line 38.
A characteristic feature of these types of implementations, however, is that when a LES fails, all the LECs connected to it try to rejoin the emulated LAN by connecting to the LECS. The LECS, however, assigns these LECs to the same non operative LES. The connection fails and the process continues endlessly.
The ATM Forum LAN Emulation Over ATM Version 2.0xe2x80x94LUNI Specification (af-lane-0084.000) addresses the single point of failure problem for the ELAN by defining a distributed architecture for the LANE services. Since the clients (LECs) should be effected by the particular implementation used to provide the services, the ATM Forum split the LANE specification into two sub specifications: (1) LAN Emulation User to Network Interface (LUNI) and (2) LAN Emulation Network to Network Interface (LNNI).
The LUNI specification defines the interface between the LEC and the LANE Services and between the LEC and other LECs. The LNNI specification defines the interface between LANE Services entities, i.e., LECs, LESs, BUSs, etc. In addition, LNNI defines a new LAN Emulation Service entity, i.e., the Selective Multicast Server (SMS), to enhance the handling of Multicast traffic.
A block diagram illustrating the relationship between LEC, LECS, LES, BUS and SMS entities in prior art Version 2.0 LAN Emulation services is shown in FIG. 3. Two LECs 40 are shown in communication with each other and to either of two LECS 42, LES 44 and BUS 46. In addition, both LECs and the LECS, LES and BUS communicate with a Selective Multicast Server (SMS) entity 48. Note that there can be more than one SMS per ELAN.
Communications among LANE components is normally handled via several types of SVCs, i.e., unidirectional, bidirectional, point-to-point (P2P) and point-to-multipoint (P2M), also known as VCCs. The LES communicates with each individual LEC via a control direct VCC 49 and with all LECs collectively via control distribute VCC 47; the BUS communicates with each individual LEC via a multicast send VCC 45 and with all LECs collectively via multicast forward VCC 43; and two individual LECs communicate with each other via a data direct VCC 41.
A brief description of the process normally performed to enable a LEC will now be presented. Initially, the LEC sends a configuration request message to the LECS to request to join an ELAN and obtain the ATM address of the LES for its ELAN. The message is sent over a bidirectional P2P Configure Direct VCC to the LECS. Using the same VCC, the LECS returns, via a configuration response message, the ATM address and the name of the LES for the ELAN associated with the LEC.
The LEC then sets up a bidirectional P2P Control Direct VCC to the LES associated with its ELAN for the purpose of exchanging control traffic. Once a Control Direct VCC is established between a LEC and LES, it remains up. The LEC then attempts to join the ELAN via join request and response messages to and from the LES. The LES for the ELAN sets up a bidirectional P2P Configure Direct VCC to the LECS to verify that the client is permitted to join the ELAN. The configuration request from the LES contains the MAC address of the LEC, its ATM address and the name of the ELAN. The LECS checks its database and determines if the LEC can join that particular ELAN. It uses the same VCC to reply to the LES whether the LEC is or is not permitted to join.
If the join is permitted, the LES adds the LEC to the unidirectional P2M Control Distribute VCC and confirms the join over the bidirectional P2P Control Direct VCC. If not permitted, the LES rejects the join over the bidirectional P2P Control Direct VCC. The LES sends configuration data, e.g., LEC_ID, ELAN_ID, etc., to the LEC. The LEC then sends LE_ARP packets for the broadcast address that causes VCCs to be set up between the LEC and the BUS entity.
During communications on the ELAN, each LEC builds a local LE_ARP table that maps MAC addresses to ATM addresses. When a LEC first joins an ELAN, its LE_ARP table does not contain any entries and it has no information about destinations on or behind its ELAN. The LEC uses the LE_ARP process to learn about the destination when a packet is to be transmitted, i.e., to find the ATM address corresponding to the known MAC address.
The LEC first sends an LE_ARP request to the LES over the Control Direct VCC. The LES forwards the LE_ARP request to all the LECs on the ELAN over the Control Distribute VCC. Any LEC that recognizes the MAC address responds with its ATM address over the Control Direct VCC. The LES forwards the response over the Control Distribute VCC. The LEC, upon receipt, adds the MAC address/ATM address pair to its LE_ARP cache. The LEC is then able to establish a Data Direct VCC to the desired destination and begin sending packets to the ATM address.
When a LEC wants to transmit broadcast, multicast or unicast traffic with an unknown address, it first sends the packet to the BUS over the Multicast Send VCC. The BUS forwards, i.e., floods, the packet to all LECs over the Multicast Forward VCC. Note that this VCC branches at each ATM switch. The switch is operative to forward the packets to multiple outputs.
Note that in connection with the LNNI scheme, there may be several LECSs defined per administrative ATM domain in addition to several active LESs defined per ELAN. Each LECS maintains the list of currently active LESs. In case a LES fails, a mechanism is defined to ensure that all the LECSs are notified of the failure in order that none of the LECS assign LECs to non operational LESs. All the LECs previously connected to the failed LES are re-assigned by the LECS to other active LESs.
As described above, in the LANE Version 1.0 architecture (see FIGS. 1 and 2), the BUS is responsible for handling three type of traffic: broadcast, multicast and unknown unicast. The multicast traffic is generated by one or more applications that send their data to a group of receivers. The group of receivers does not include all the clients of the ELAN. For example, these applications include but are not limited to video broadcasting, distribution of data information, e.g., software distribution or push technology, video conferencing, remote learning, etc.
It is expected that these applications will increase in popularity in the near future. Therefore, the amount of multicast traffic is expected to also increase to a large extent. If multicast traffic were to grow, based on the LANE Version 1.0 implementation, the BUS would quickly become a bottleneck for traffic when the total amount of multicast traffic on the ELAN exceeds the forwarding power of the BUS.
Note that it is expected that in the near future Multicast traffic will become very heavy in networks. Broadcast traffic occurs mainly in the startup phase of the network and network elements. Once operating, little continuous broadcast traffic is generated. Similarly, unknown traffic is also not generated on a continuous basis. Unknown traffic is generated, for example, by a network element before a direct connection is established between two network devices.
In addition, multicast traffic is currently handled as broadcast traffic. All multicast traffic defaults to the BUS. In other words, regardless of the size and membership of the multicast group, a multicast message is broadcast to all the LECs and all members attached to the LECs.
To summarize, the disadvantage of LANE Version 1.0 is (1) the lack of true multicast capability (multicast is treated as broadcast) and (2) the lack of redundancy (if a LES or BUS fails the entire ELAN goes down). In particular, multicast traffic is limited by the forwarding capability of the BUS and by the slowest downlink to a LEC. Further, in switched edge device, all multicast traffic is distributed to all the ports.
Since, however, up till now relatively little multicast traffic was generated, the redundancy problem was considered far more important. Today, however, and in the near future the increase in multicast traffic generated by applications will cause the first problem, i.e., lack of true multicast, to become an important problem as well.
The LNNI portion of LANE Version 2.0 addresses these issues by providing a means of offloading the multicast traffic from the BUS. With reference to FIG. 3, this is achieved by the addition of one or more Selective Multicast Servers (SMSs) 48 that are responsible for handling multicast traffic.
A standard prior art SMS (and BUS) is constructed to perform the following functions. SMSs are designed to forward traffic on a packet level as opposed to forwarding traffic on a cell level. SMSs utilize a heavy protocol known as Server Cache Synchronization Protocol (SCSP). In LNNI most of the information between entities, i.e., LES, SMS, LECS, is transferred using this protocol. This protocol is needed to enable the SMS and LES to reside on difference network devices. In addition, SMSs introduce themselves to the LECS and after obtaining the LES(s) from the LECS. After this first introduction they introduce themselves again to the LES(s). Further, SMSs must forward multicast traffic to the BUS to ensure backward compatibility with non-SMS enabled LECs.
Both the BUS and SMS comprise, among other things, a segmentation and re-assembly (SAR) unit. As described above, a major function of the SMS is to receive and distribute multicast traffic.
In operation, one or more LECs establish connections to the BUS. Cells forwarded to the BUS from one or more LECs are received and input to the SAR. A re-assembly unit functions to reassemble the cells into packets. The cells are not forwarded until all cells comprising a packet are received. The BUS cannot multiplex different multicast traffic streams on the cell level, thus the requirement for an SAR in prior art BUS entities. It can, however, multiplex on the packet level.
Once all cells making up a packet have arrived, the packet is then segmented into cells and distributed to each receiver, i.e., member, in the particular multicast group associated with the packet.
For traditional LAN traffic, AAL5 is the means used by which Ethernet and Token Ring frames are encapsulated into ATM cells. AAL5, however, does not provide any multiplexing capabilities. This means that cells derived from a particular frame are queued until all have arrived at the SAR before the packet is passed to the segmentation unit and transmitted as cells to the plurality of multicast destinations, i.e., receivers.
Note that in practice, the BUS (and SMS) may be implemented in various devices but typically, it is implemented in ATM switches. More than one BUS and SMS may reside in a network with each BUS and SMS residing on a different switch.
Initially, the LEC requests from the LES a destination for sending multicast traffic. The LES responds with the address of an SMS. The SMS maintains a list of Multicast Media Access Control (MMAC) addresses, wherein each MMAC represents a multicast group. It is possible that several SMSs serve the same MMAC so as to provide load balancing in the event the output demand exceeds any one SMS.
The LESs have knowledge of the locations of the SMSs and the MMACs handled by each. When an LE_ARP_REQ message arrives at a LES from a LEC for a particular MMAC, the LES replies with the ATM address of the BUS (SMS). If the LES does not know about any SMSs, it sends the LEC the ATM address of the BUS. Thus, the BUS is the default in the event an SMS cannot be assigned.
In a network with multicast, the sending and receiving functions are independent of each other. In other words multicast connections may involve overlapping LECs or they may involve totally non overlapping LECs. The same LEC may function as a sender and a receiver for a single multicast connection or for multiple multicast connections.
Once the LEC obtains the ATM address of the SMS, it establishes a point to point connection to the SMS. The LEC then sends multicast traffic to the SMS over that connection.
By default, the LEC receives all multicast traffic. In some cases, e.g., LANE Version 2.0 or a LEC in selective multicast mode, the LEC must issue an LE_REGISTER_REQ message for a particular MMAC and send it to the LES in order to listen to a particular multicast. The LES, using the LNNI SCSP protocol, instructs the SMS to add the LEC to the point to multipoint connection.
Routers utilize a protocol known as Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) that is used to enable a layer 3 device, i.e. router, to learn which interfaces to forward multicast traffic to for each multicast group. The IGMP protocol is useful to prevent flooding, i.e., broadcasting, multicast traffic to all ports which is normally done in the absence of such a mechanism. A layer 2 switch adapted to run IGMP snooping, functions to snoop the traffic, i.e., examine the conversations occurring between hosts and routers, including queries and responses, to learn which ports to send multicast traffic to.
In particular, routers use IGMP to ask hosts which multicasts they wish to receive. Hosts use IGMP to inform routers which multicasts they wish to receive. When a switch is placed between a host and a router, it can see which port a router is connected to and which ports have devices connected to them that wish to receive multicast traffic. Using this data, a switch can configure its forwarding database to send multicast traffic to the ports connected to hosts that want to receive the multicast traffic. Multicast traffic is not sent to ports that do not have a device connected to it that want to receive the multicast data.
Routers that support IGMP send out messages on a periodic basis that query which hosts want to receive multicast traffic. If a host is switched off, then the replies from that host to these messages will stop. The router uses the cessation of replies as an indication that the host does not wish to continue to receive multicast traffic. Hosts can also use an explicit leave message to indicate that they do not wish to listen to a multicast group.
Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) snooping functions to look at the conversations that occur between hosts and routers. In particular, IGMP snooping functions to track (1) the request for multicast traffic by a host, (2) the cessation of replies when a host is switched off and (3) the explicit host leave group message. If all hosts on a particular port do not wish to receive particular multicast traffic, then that port is removed from the set of ports to which that particular multicast traffic is forwarded.
Note that IGMP messages generated by hosts comprise requests for specific multicasts. IGMP snooping examines the multicast that is being requested and either enables or disables forwarding of that particular multicast. Examining the multicast address in messages sent from the host enables IGMP snooping to provide automatic fine tune control that directs only the requested multicast traffic to the host rather than all the multicast traffic.
A limitation of IGMP snooping, however, is that it can only be used with IP multicast traffic and cannot be used with non-IP multicast traffic. Although the majority of multicast traffic in use today is IP multicast traffic, there is a growing amount of multicast traffic that is non-IP related. Thus, IGMP cannot be used to prevent flooding of multicast traffic to all ports. This is the situation in LANE Version 1.0 wherein all multicast traffic is broadcast to all the LECs via the BUS. As described hereinabove, LANE Version 2.0 introduced SMS which works with layer 2 MMAC addresses only.
A block diagram illustrating an example prior art ELAN including several LECs connected to an IP multicast sender and a plurality of IP multicast listeners is shown in FIG. 4. The network, generally referenced 60, comprises an ELAN 66 configured over an ATM cloud. The ELAN 66 comprises LE services 68 including BUS 70, LES 72 and SMS 74. The ELAN also comprises a plurality of LECs 64, labeled LEC #1 through LEC #5. An IP multicast sender 62 is coupled to LEC #1 while one or more IP multicast listeners 76 are coupled to LEC #2, one or more IP multicast listeners 89 to LEC #3, non listener host 78 and non IP multicast router 80 to LEC #4 and IP multicast router 82 to LEC #5. The IP multicast router 82 is connected to listener host 84 and the Internet 86. One or more IP multicast listeners 88 are configured to receive multicast traffic from the ELAN via IP multicast router 82 and the Internet 86.
As described previously, network traffic can be classified into three basic types of traffic: unicast traffic, broadcast traffic and multicast traffic. Unicast traffic includes data sent from a source host to a single destination host. In broadcast traffic, data is sent from a source host destined to all hosts on a specific subnet. With multicast traffic, data is sent from a source host to a group of destination hosts. In ATM ELANs, the destination hosts are identified using a registration procedure as described in the ATM Forum LANE standards, as hosts desiring to be listeners to a particular source of multicast traffic join and become members of a specific multicast group.
Multicast traffic may be generated by numerous types of applications such as a video conferencing application whereby an audio/video stream is transmitted to a group of participating stations, each configured to listen to and view the transmission. Multicast listener stations may be geographically dispersed and connected to different physical networks. All the stations, however, belong to the same multicast group and are configured to listen to the same multicast traffic.
Both the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) have defined several control protocols for IP multicast traffic. These control protocols permit the communication of data, parameters, configuration data, etc. that is required for correct, efficient and secure multicast traffic flow. The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) and Generic Multicast Registration Protocol (GMRP) are examples of multicast control protocols that support multicast traffic within a subnet. These protocols support activities such as the registration of multicast host listeners for participation in a multicast group, the unregistration of a multicast host listener from a multicast group, the response to queries from routers about multicast host listeners within a subnet, communication of information between neighboring bridges, etc.
In addition, the following protocols are examples of IP multicast control protocols that support the exchange of information in an inter-network context: Distance Vector Multicast Router Protocol (DVMRP), Multicast Open Shortest Path First (MOSPF) and Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM). These protocols support, among other things, the identification of multicast routers by neighboring multicast routers, the communication of multicast routing tables among neighboring routers and the definition of the multicast routing tree per multicast group.
Multicast control protocols, such as those described hereinabove, provide the basic mechanism enabling the forwarding of multicast traffic. The forwarding of multicast data means sending the data to all the hosts that want to listen to a particular multicast traffic group. Thus, multicast traffic data must be forwarded to all subnets that have a multicast host wishing to listen to that particular multicast traffic. In addition, in forwarding the multicast traffic, it is important to point out that the multicast traffic is not forwarded to networks where there are not situated any listeners to that multicast traffic.
A multicast enabled router device is configured to forward multicast frames towards its network interfaces based on the multicast entries in its routing table. Similarly, a multicast enabled Layer 2 bridge or switch device is configured to forward multicast frames towards the subnets in accordance with the multicast entries in its forwarding table. In general, a multicast enabled router is configured to forward multicast frames towards its multicast neighbors and to Layer 2 LANs that have at least one listener of the multicast traffic.
Once a multicast data frame is forwarded within a legacy subnet LAN segment (e.g., Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, etc.) that is based on a connection-less oriented infrastructure, the multicast frame arrives at each device that is physically connected to the network. Each device, in turn, determines how to process the multicast frame. For example, a multicast enabled NIC in a host device forwards the multicast frame to its host if there is an application configured to listen to the multicast traffic from that particular multicast group. If no application is configured to listen to the traffic, the NIC discards the multicast frame.
In order to support multicast traffic over ATM based ELANs, a specific functionality has been defined for LANE components (i.e., LECs and LE services components). Multicast support over ATM ELANs is defined in several standards of the ATM Forum, including LUNI v2.0 (af-lane-0084.000 July 1997 and LNNI v2.0 (af-lane-0112.000 February 1999), both of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
These standards provide a mechanism whereby a multicast listener can register, via the LEC serving the particular host, a multicast MAC address in the LES, indicating its desire to join a particular multicast traffic group of listeners. Similarly, a multicast listener, via the LEC serving that particular host, can unregister a multicast MAC address in the LES, indicating its desire to leave a particular multicast traffic group of listeners.
The information related to multicast listeners is communicated by the LES to the appropriate SMS entity. The SMS entity is responsible to efficiently distribute multicast traffic to the group of listening LECs utilizing point to multipoint VCCs. The LECs that do not register to listen to that particular multicast traffic group do not receive the multicast traffic flow on the ELAN.
An illustration of the multicast registration process is presented with reference to FIG. 4. The sending LEC #1, in response to the IP multicast sender, sends an LE_ARP request message containing the multicast address of the multicast group to the LES 72 in the LE Service block 68. The LES, in response, returns the ATM address of the SMS 74. The listening LEC #2, in response to a request by one or more IP multicast listeners 76, sends a register message to the LES containing the multicast address of the group the listener desired to join. In response, the LES forwards the request to the SMS that adds the listener to the multicast forward point to multipoint VCC. The SMS uses the multicast forward point to multipoint VCC to forward the multicast traffic for a particular group to all registered listeners.
A limitation of the listener registration process described above as provided by the current ATM Forum standards is that the registration request process is only able to handle a single multicast address per request message. Thus, for each multicast group a listener desires to listen to, a separate individual request message must be generated and sent by the LEC to the LES. The LANE version 2.0 standards do not provide a mechanism whereby a LEC can register to receive more than a single multicast traffic flow in a single request message.
This limitation is particularly problematic in the case where a LEC is serving a multicast enabled router. In this case, it is required that all multicast traffic be forwarded to the LEC so as to enable the router to forward the multicast traffic to other subnets. Note that the multicast traffic will reach the LEC if it was sent via the BUS entity, as is the case in LANE v1.0. The multicast traffic will not reach the LEC, however, if it is sent through the SMS, as is the case with LANE v2.0.
As another example, this limitation is also problematic in applications whereby a LEC serves a security type multicast application wherein it is desired to probe all multicast traffic flowing over the ATM ELAN.
Currently, LANE v2.0 does not provide a mechanism whereby a LEC can register to receive all multicast traffic flowing over the ATM ELAN via a single message. One alternative to achieve the functionality specified in the current standard, is to register each possible multicast MAC address. This, however, is highly inefficient and not practical due to the huge range of legal multicast MAC addresses. Thus, it is desirable to have a mechanism whereby a LEC can register in a single request message to receive all multicast flows in an ATM ELAN.
The present invention solves the problems associated with the prior art by providing an apparatus for and a method of implementing multicast registration in an ATM based ELAN. In particular, the present invention provides a mechanism for a LEC to register to receive all multicast group traffic flows. The mechanism provides the means for requesting all multicast traffic to be forwarded to the requesting LEC without requiring the LEC to generate a separate request for each multicast MAC address. The mechanism of the present invention provides means for a LEC to register to receive all multicast flows by defining an xe2x80x98all_multicastxe2x80x99 TLV and including this TLV in the request message sent by the LEC. Further, the xe2x80x98all_multicastxe2x80x99 designation is also used to forward multicast traffic over the ELAN to requesting LECs.
In operation, the LEC, LES and SMS are modified to perform the multicast registration/unregistration method of the present invention. The LEC generates the LE_REGISTER_REQUEST message and includes the all_multicast TLV indicating that the LEC desires to receive all multicast traffic flows in the ELAN. The LES, upon receipt of such an all_multicast TLV, adds the LEC to its list of LECs to receive all multicast traffic and communicates the related information to each SMS. Each SMS is adapted to add the LEC to each of the multicast groups currently maintained by the SMS. In addition, upon the establishment of new multicast groups, the SMS is operative to automatically add the LEC to the multicast group.
A similar symmetric process occurs in the event a LEC no longer wishes to receive all multicast traffic. The LEC generates the LE_UNREGISTER_REQUEST message and includes the all_multicast TLV indicating that the LEC desires to stop receiving all multicast traffic flows in the ELAN. The LES removes the LEC from its list of LECs to receive all multicast traffic and forwards the related LEC information to each SMS. The SMS is operative to remove the LEC from each of the multicast groups regardless of whether the LEC did not register to be a listener to that group using the specific register mechanism of the standard LANE protocol.
There is thus provided in accordance with the present invention, in an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) based Emulated LAN (ELAN) including LAN Emulation Server (LES) and Selective Multicast Service (SMS) LE Services and one or more LE Clients (LECs), a method of multicast registration, the method comprising the steps of generating a register request message comprising an indication that a requesting LEC desires to receive all multicast flows in the ELAN, communicating the request to receive all multicast flows to all SMS entities in the ELAN and adding the requesting LEC to all multicast forward groups in each SMS entity so as to cause all multicast flows in the ELAN to be received by the requesting LEC.
There is also provided in accordance with the present invention, in an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) based Emulated LAN (ELAN) including LAN Emulation Server (LES) and Selective Multicast Service (SMS) LE Services and one or more LE Clients (LECs), a method of multicast unregistration, the method comprising the steps of generating an unregister request message comprising an indication that a requesting LEC desires to stop receiving all multicast flows in the ELAN, communicating the request to stop receiving all multicast flows to all SMS entities in the ELAN and removing the requesting LEC from all multicast forward groups in each SMS entity so as to cause all multicast flows in the ELAN to stop being received by the requesting LEC.